How to Completely Uninstall Skype on Mac and Remove Every Leftover (2026)

If you want to uninstall Skype on Mac and actually recover all the disk space it consumed, dragging the app to the Trash is only the first step. Skype scatters support files, caches, logs, and preference data across your home Library — and on macOS Sequoia or Tahoe those folders are hidden by default. This guide walks through every location, gives you the exact Terminal commands to clean them up, and explains what each folder contains so you can make an informed decision before deleting anything.

Why Dragging Skype to the Trash Is Not Enough

When you move Skype.app to the Trash, macOS removes only the application bundle itself — roughly 100–200 MB on Apple Silicon. The application leaves behind several gigabytes of data in your home Library: conversation history, received files, cached avatars, crash reports, and more. Over years of use these leftovers can easily exceed 2–3 GB.

The leftovers also include a Launch Agent that Skype installs to keep itself running in the background. If you do not remove it, macOS will attempt to launch a process that no longer exists and log errors on every login.

Step 1 — Quit Skype Completely

Before removing any files, make sure Skype is not running:

1. Click the Skype icon in the Dock and choose Quit Skype.
2. Open Activity Monitor (Applications → Utilities), search for “Skype” and confirm no processes remain.
3. If a process persists, select it and click the stop button (×) to force-quit.

How to Completely Uninstall Skype on Mac — Step by Step

The following steps cover every known location that Skype writes to on macOS. Open Terminal (Applications → Utilities → Terminal) and work through each command. All paths below use ~ to represent your home folder.

Remove the Application Bundle

If you have not done so already, drag /Applications/Skype.app to the Trash, or run:

sudo rm -rf /Applications/Skype.app

You will be prompted for your administrator password.

Delete Application Support Data

Skype stores conversation history, account data, and received files here:

rm -rf ~/Library/Application\ Support/Skype

This folder often contains the largest share of leftover data — sometimes several gigabytes if you have used Skype for years and have received many files.

Remove Caches

Cached avatars, media thumbnails, and response data live in:

rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.skype.skype
rm -rf ~/Library/Caches/com.skype.skype.helper

Delete Preferences

Skype writes property list files to the standard preferences folder:

rm -f ~/Library/Preferences/com.skype.skype.plist
rm -f ~/Library/Preferences/com.skype.skype.helper.plist

After deleting preference files, run killall cfprefsd to flush the preference daemon cache so macOS picks up the deletion immediately.

Remove Logs

rm -rf ~/Library/Logs/Skype

Remove Saved Application State

macOS saves window state so apps can restore their layout after a restart. Skype leaves a state bundle here:

rm -rf ~/Library/Saved\ Application\ State/com.skype.skype.savedState

Check for a Launch Agent

Older versions of Skype installed a Launch Agent to enable background startup. Check whether one exists:

ls ~/Library/LaunchAgents/ | grep -i skype

If any .plist files appear, remove them:

rm -f ~/Library/LaunchAgents/com.skype.skype.plist

Then unload the agent from the current session:

launchctl remove com.skype.skype 2>/dev/null; true

Check WebKit and Cookies Storage

Skype uses an embedded web view that can leave data in:

rm -rf ~/Library/WebKit/com.skype.skype
rm -rf ~/Library/Cookies/com.skype.skype.binarycookies

Leftover File Map and Typical Sizes

The table below summarises every Skype location and the typical disk footprint for a moderate user (a few years of history, mostly voice and text calls).

How to Access Hidden Library Folders in macOS Sequoia and Tahoe

Apple hides the ~/Library folder by default. To navigate there in Finder without Terminal:

1. Open a Finder window.
2. Hold Option and click the Go menu in the menu bar.
3. A Library option appears — click it to open your home Library.

From there you can navigate to any subfolder listed in the table above and delete items manually if you prefer to avoid Terminal.

Will I Lose My Chat History?

Yes — if you delete ~/Library/Application Support/Skype, your local copy of chat history will be gone. However, Microsoft stores Skype messages in the cloud for up to 90 days (30 days for group chats). If you reinstall Skype and sign in within that window, recent history will sync back. Files and media you received are stored only locally, so back those up before deleting the Application Support folder if you need them.

Dealing With Residual System Data

On macOS, applications can also contribute to the “System Data” figure shown in System Settings → General → Storage. After removing Skype’s files, that number may not drop immediately — macOS sometimes takes several minutes to recalculate storage. If you are trying to understand what else is consuming space, the breakdown at what is taking up space on my Mac explains how macOS categorises different types of storage.

If you regularly uninstall apps and want confidence that all leftover files have been caught, a tool like Crumb can audit all of these locations at once and show what is safe to remove before you delete anything — useful when you are cleaning up multiple apps in one session.

For a broader look at clearing cached data across your whole system, see the guide on how to clear system cache on Mac.

Confirming the Uninstall Is Complete

After running all the removal commands, do a final check to make sure nothing was missed:

find ~ -name "*skype*" -not -path "*/Trash/*" 2>/dev/null

This searches your entire home folder (case-sensitive, so also run with *Skype*) for any remaining Skype-related files. If the output is empty, the uninstall is complete. Restart your Mac to flush any cached references and confirm that no Skype processes attempt to launch at login.